Method and device for repairing bowling pins



Oct. 12, 1965 c. BEHRENDT 3,211,813

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR REPAIRING BOWLING PINS Filed Dec. 1 1961 //v VENTOR HERMAN c, BEHRENDT A TOPNE 9 5 United States Patent O 3,211,813 METHOD AND DEVICE FOR REPAIRING BOWLING PINS Herman C. Behrendt, 2312 University, Des Moines, Iowa Filed Dec. 14, 1961, Ser. No, 159,364 2 Claims. (Cl. 26436) This invention relates generally to a method for repairing bowling pins.

A conventional type of bowling pin is made of a solid hardwood covered by a layer or skin of plastic. By virtue of the continuous impact of a pin by a bowling ball, in due time one or more areas of the wood, particularly about the longitudinal middle of the pin, will disintegrate beneath the plastic layer or skin. This results in the formation of what are commonly called soft spots. A soft spot will impair the eifectiveness of a pin and requires its withdrawal from use. To provide a novel device for repairing a bowling pin which has developed one or more soft spots is therefore an object of this invention.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a novel method for repairing a bowling pin.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method which will inject a quick-drying fluid substance or filler below the plastic skin of a bowling pin for filling a soft spot thereunder.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method adapted for driving an injector beneath the skin of a bowling pin and into a soft area of wood for injecting a synthetic wood compound into the area.

These objects, and other features and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective veiw of one embodiment of the bowling pin repair device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the cylinder;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the injection valve and associated parts;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the body of a bowling pin showing a soft spot into which an injector has been inserted; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the soft spot area after a quantity of synthetic wood compound has been inserted.

Referring now to the drawing, the bowling pin repair device, illustrated generally at in FIG. 1, includes a flat base 11 on one side of which is mounted a mold 12 formed with a cavity to hold a bowling pin 13 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1. An upright post 14 is mounted on the other side of the base 11 for rotatably supporting a laterally extended arm 16 provided with a circular opening (not shown) at its outer end.

An upright sleeve 17 is secured to the arm 16 in axial alignment with the opening, and a gusset plate 18 is secured at its outer end to the sleeve 17 and along its lower edge to the arm 16. The sleeve 17 is used as a guide for a piston and cylinder-type injector unit 19 which is loosely inserted through the guide sleeve 17 and the arm opening. A cap 21 having an upright rectangular block 22 is provided at the top of the injector unit 19 for engagement with a handle unit 23.

The handle unit 23, spaced above and extended substantially parallel to the arm 16, includes a U-shaped clamp 24 rotatably secured to the post 14. A yoke 26 has one end pivoted at 27 to the clamp 24 and with its legs 28 at the other end secured by a pair of screws 29 (only one showing) to the cap block 22 of the injector unit 19. An elongated handle 31 connected at one end to the yoke legs 28 extends outwardly of the yoke 26 3,211,813 Patented Oct. 12, 1965 and is adapted to be manually moved, the handle 31 and yoke 26 pivoting as a unit about the pivot 27 whereby to reciprocate the injector unit 19 relative to the sleeve 17.

Downward movement of the handle 31 is limited by the provision of a bar 30 secured in an inclined manner to the gusset plate 18 and provided at its upper end with a stop portion 32 adapted upon upward movement to engage a similar stop portion (not shown) depending from the yoke 26. The handle 31 is yieldably maintained a predetermined distance above the stop 32 by a coil spring 33 extended between the stops.

A lever unit 34 is provided for reciprocating a piston rod 35 extended into the injector unit 19 for a purpose hereinafter described. The lever unit 34 includes an elongated lever 36 pivotally mounted above the handle 31 by means of an H-shaped link 37. One end of the link 37 is connected by a pivot pin 38 to the yoke 26, and the other end of the link 37 is connected to the inner end of the lever 36 by a pivot pin 39. A cylindrical link 41 is provided with a groove 42 for receiving the lever 36, a pivot pin 43 providing the connection therebetween. A bore (not shown) is formed in the bottom of the link 41 for receiving the piston rod 35, the rod being secured in the bore by a screw 44.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the injector unit 19 is illustrated as including a cylinder 46 the upper end of which is enclosed by the cap 21 and the lower reduced end 47 of which is enclosed by an injection valve 48. Within the cylinder 46 is reciprocally mounted a piston 49 biased toward the injection valve 48 by a spring 51 interposed between the piston 49 and the cap 21. The piston 49 comprises a resilient, downwardly facing cup 52 held between a pair of washers 53 and 54 by rivets 56. An opening 57 is formed centrally in the piston 49 for receiving the piston rod 35, providing for relative movement between the piston 49 and the piston rod 35.

An expansible chamber 58 is formed between the piston 49 and a fitting 59 for receiving and holding, under pressure of the spring 51, a quantity of a fluid filler (not shown) such as a quick-drying synthetic wood compound. Within the fitting 59, a conical cavity 61 is formed which terminates in an elongated secondary chamber 62 formed longitudinally of the fitting 59 and axially of the cylinder 46 and the piston rod 35. The lower portion 62a of the chamber 62 is of a reduced diameter relative to the upper portion 62b whereby to form a shoulder 63. To force the filler through the chamber 62, there is provided a shaft '64 the upper end of which is connected to the piston rod 35 by a ball and socket joint 66. Slightly above the joint 66, a knurled portion 67 is formed on the piston rod 35 to limit the downward movement of the piston 49 relative to the piston rod 35.

The injection valve (FIG. 3) includes a housing 68 threadably connected to the lower end of the fitting 59 and formed with a cavity 69 open to the secondary chamber 62. A ball valve 71, as illustrated in FIG. 3, is yieldably held by a coil spring 72 against a valve seat 60 formed at the lower end of the secondary chamber 62. For emitting the fluid filler compound, a'circular injector 73 is secured to the housing 68. The injector 73 has a longitudinal bore 74 in communication with the cavity 69 and includes a lateral passage 76 leading from the bore 74 to opposite sides of the injector 73.

In use of the device 10, the bowling pin 13 to be repaired is placed in the mold 12 with the soft spot, indicated generally at 77 in FIG. 4, located directly below the injector 73. The soft spot 77 comprises an area below the plastic skin 78 where the wood body 79 of the bowling pin 13 has become disintegrated or pulpy. One practice of finding such soft spots is the conventional tapping method, wherein upon tapping over the skin 78 3 a hollow sound indicates the presence of a soft area beneath the skin 78.

The injector unit 19 is positioned over the soft spot by rotating the entire arm, handle and lever structure about the post 14 as a unit until the injector 73 is positioned directly above the soft spot 77. The handle 31 is then pressed downwardly toward the bowling pin 13. As a result of this downward movement, the handle 31 pivots about the pivot pin 27 and moves the injector unit 19 through the sleeve 17 until the injector 73 punctures and passes through the plastic skin 78 and into the soft spot 77. As mentioned hereinbefore, a positive limit on the downward movement of the injector unit 19 is provided by the inclined stop 32 and the handle unit stop (not shown). The spacing between the stops is such as to permit a maximum penetration of the injector 73 to where, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the lateral passage 76 is disposed beneath the plastic skin 78.

While holding the handle 31 in its lowered position against the compression of the spring 33, the lever 36 is then raised about its pivot 39 until the shaft 64 is free and clear of the secondary chamber 62. With the chamber 62 evacuated, the pressure of the piston 49 against the fluid filler in the primary chamber 58 forces the filler into the secondary chamber 62 until it is full. The lever 36 is then pivoted downwardly whereby the shaft 64, moved by the piston rod 35, is guided by the wall of the cavity 61 into the secondary chamber 62 and moved downwardly in the secondary chamber 62 until it strikes the shoulder 63. This movement forces the filler out of the upper portion 62b of the chamber 62 and against the ball valve 71. In response to the pressure against the ball valve 71, the spring 72 is compressed, whereby the ball valve 71 is opened to permit a flow of the filler into the injection valve cavity 69 and through the injector 73.

The filler is thus forced through the passages 74 and 76 in the injector 73 and into the soft spot 77 (FIG. 4) beneath the skin 78. When the downward movement of the piston rod 35 is halted by the shaft 64 engaging the shoulder 63, the operator lifts the lever 36 to effect another stroke. Upon raising the lever 36 and thus withdrawing the shaft 64 from the secondary chamber 62, the injection valve spring 72 forces the ball valve 71 against its seat 60 and closes off the lower end of the secondary chamber 62.

Operation of the lever 36 is repeated until it is certain that the area of the soft spot 77 is completely filled with the filler, designated at 83 in FIG. 5. This filling can be ascertained by raising the handle 31 to remove the injector 73 from the circular opening 84 (FIG. 1) formed in the plastic skin 78 as a result of the injector penetration. If the soft spot 77 is filled, a small portion of the filler 83 will escape through the opening 84. Upon a release of the handle 31, the spring 33 positions the handle 31, and thus the injector unit 19 and the lever unit 34, in their original rest positions.

Should other soft spots be found, the injector unit 19 and the bowling pin 13 are positioned so that the injector unit 19 is located directly above the soft spot, and then the injection method is repeated. After the bowling pin 13 has been repaired, the handle unit 23 and associated structure are swung about the post 14 and away from the mold 12 to enable the removal of the repaired bowling pin 13.

Although a preferred embodiment and method of this invention has been disclosed herein, it is not to be so limited as various modifications and alterations can be made thereto within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of repairing a bowling pin having a body covered with a skin, wherein a localized area of the body has disintegrated beneath the skin, comprising the steps of locating the disintegrated area, piercing the skin at said area, and injecting into the area beneath the skin a quantity of a fluid compound equal to said area that hardens upon drying.

2. The method of repairing a bowling pin having a hardwood body covered with a plastic skin, wherein a localized area of hardwood body has disintegrated beneath the skin, comprising the steps of locating the disintegrated area, forcing an injector through the skin and into the area, forcing a quantity of a fluid compound, that completely fills said area and hardens upon drying, through the injector and into the area, and withdrawing the injector from the area.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,396,089 11/21 Bartlett.

1,616,199 2/27 Rosine 222-260 1,644,156 10/27 Sibley -2 222-260 1,684,080 9/28 Zerk 222260 1,790,914 2/31 Gray 222260 2,086,939 7/37 Hess 26436 2,213,479 9/40 Voit et al 1859 XR 2,313,110 3/43 Wertz 26436 2,370,958 3/45 Hellier 26436 2,559,539 7/51 Kelly 26436 2,568,274 9/51 Clark 18-59 2,573,805 11/51 Neustadter 1830 XR 2,600,958 6/52 Barton 1830 2,684,504 7/54 Sell 26436 3,014,243 12/61 Hehl 1830 3,030,951 4/62 Mandarino 26426l 3,083,408 4/63 Bichl 1830 3,123,864 3/64 MacIntyre 1830 FOREIGN PATENTS 365,124 7/30 Great Britain.

ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner. ALEXANDER BRQDMERKEL, Examiner, 

1. THE METHOD OF REPAIRING A BOWLING PIN HAVING A BODY COVERED WITH A SKIN, WHEREIN A LOCALIZED AREA OF THE BODY HAS DISINTEGRATED BENEATH THE SKIN, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF LOCATING THE DISINTEGRATED AREA, PIERCING THE SKIN AT SAID AREA, AND INJECTING INTO THE AREA BENEATH THE SKIN A QUANTITY OF A FLUID COMPOUND EQUAL TO SAID AREA THAT HARDENS UPON DRYING. 